1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to the field of buckles, and more specifically to a belt buckle wherein the loose end of a belt or strap is clamped to the buckle by manual operation of a pivoted lever.
2. Description of the Related Art
The art provides a variety of buckles of a configuration wherein a pivoted lever operates to trap the loose end of a belt or strap. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,626 a strap buckle includes a spring biased release arm that includes a serrated eccentric gripping surface. While a strap end may be pulled past this gripping surface, a force on the strap in the opposite direction tends to rotate the gripping member against a stationary transverse bar, thus trapping the strap end between the gripping surface and the transverse bar.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,856, a two piece adjustable buckle includes a frame member and a locking member, both of which are fabricated of a plastic material. The frame member includes at one end a transversely extending, circular cross section bar upon which one end of the locking member is pivotally mounted by virtue of the flexing of a mating elongated groove that is carried at one end of the locking member. The frame member also carries a parallel extending intermediate bar of a rectangular cross section. As the locking member is closed, a strap is trapped within an elongated cavity that is carried by the locking member, as this cavity receives the frame's intermediate bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,248 describes a watch band clasp wherein a pivoted clip plate depresses a pressure plate down unto a base member, to thereby trap an end of the watch band between the pressure plate and the base member when the clip plate is rotated to its closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,688 describes a belt buckle wherein a pivoted belt gripping member is mounted to a base member by way of the cooperation of pivot pins that mate with bearing holes and guide grooves that lead to the bearing holes. When the gripping member is pivoted down onto the base member, a nonslip surface carried by the gripping member forces a belt end against a shaft that is carried by the base member.
While the art as generally represented above was satisfactory for its limited intended purposes, the need remains in the art for a buckle of simple construction having an improved means for pivotally mounting a clasp member onto a base member in an essentially nonreleasable manner, wherein a means is provided to produce snap latching of the clasp to the base member, and wherein securing a belt end is facilitated by the flexing of a surface of the base member as the clasp is pressed into its latched position, to thus securely hold the belt end.